In skilled spelling-to-dictation tasks, it has been consistently observed that the spelling of high frequency words is initiated faster than the spelling of low frequency words. Previous researchers have attributed the frequency effect solely to orthographic retrieval, without taking into account the time required for spoken word recognition in the spelling task. To investigate this assumption, three experiments were conducted to examine the possible loci of word frequency effects, and the attentional mechanisms in skilled spelling-to-dictation tasks. Results of Experiment 1 showed that word frequency does not affect response execution of the first letter, and together with Experiment 2, suggested that orthographic retrieval is not affected by frequency, and that spoken word recognition is the only locus of word frequency effects in skilled spelling-to-dictation. Lastly, the results of Experiment 3 showed that word frequency effects in spelling are at an attention-demanding central stage and non-automatic.